Congratulations to Prof. Jessica D’eon who was the recipient of the Faculty of Arts & Science Outstanding Teaching Award, which recognizes teaching excellence in undergraduate and graduate education with a focus on classroom instruction and course design and/or curriculum development.
Jessica D’eon, an associate professor, teaching stream in the Department of Chemistry and undergraduate associate director of the School of the Environment, regularly teaches a large first-year chemistry class along with specialized upper-year courses in environmental chemistry.
Students regularly remark on her enthusiasm, kindness and openness, all of which “create a calm learning environment where one does not feel afraid to ask questions or ask for help.”
Employing project-based and participatory learning techniques, D’eon shows students that chemistry need not be a solitary discipline but can be studied as part of larger contexts and networks. For example, she asks students to simulate the role of a scientific advisor to a delegation of legislators; and she leads a course that facilitates knowledge exchange between chemistry and engineering students.
Outside of the classroom, D’eon works with the School of the Environment’s undergraduate program and regularly participates in conferences and symposia on chemistry education. She is a key contributor to curriculum renewal and design and boasts consistently stellar course evaluations and strong enrolment numbers. D’eon works with students at all levels, from high school summer researchers to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and always elicits exceptionally high praise from her mentees.